Naomi Washington-Leapheart
Biography
Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart is an American minister, professor, movement strategist, and justice advocate whose work focuses on faith, LGBTQ+ justice, racial justice, and community organizing. A daughter of Detroit, she has built a significant part of her professional life in Philadelphia.
Washington-Leapheart served as Faith Work Director for the National LGBTQ Task Force before joining the City of Philadelphia as Director for Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs, a position she held from 2019 to 2023. She is now Strategic Partnerships Director at Political Research Associates and teaches theology and religious studies.
In 2020, she founded Salt | Yeast | Light, an organization focused on spiritual education, theological reflection, political disruption, and communal transformation. She was the Government Fellow for Religion and Public Life at Harvard Divinity School in 2023–2024.
BQW Impact
Washington-Leapheart contributes to Black queer cultural and community life through faith leadership, education, organizing, and movement strategy. In a 2019 statement, she explicitly identified herself as Black, a woman, and bisexual, and spoke about her marriage to another Black woman. Her work connects faith, racial justice, LGBTQ+ equality, and community liberation.
Notable Works
Faith Work Director, National LGBTQ Task Force (2016 - 2019)
Led faith-focused messaging, advocacy, and leadership development work within LGBTQ+ and faith communities.
Director for Faith-Based and Interfaith Affairs, City of Philadelphia (2019 - 2023)
Served as a public-facing leader connecting Philadelphia's faith communities with city government.
Salt | Yeast | Light (2020 - present)
Founded organization developing spaces for spiritual education, reflection, transformation, and public action.
Government Fellowship for Religion and Public Life, Harvard Divinity School (2023 - 2024)
Served as Government Fellow examining the relationship between religious practice, public life, and government.
Strategic Partnerships Director, Political Research Associates (2023 - present)
Leads strategic partnership work at the social justice research and strategy center.
Learn More
Political Research Associates, Rev. Naomi Washington-Leapheart
Current professional profile documenting her work as a minister, professor, movement strategist, and Strategic Partnerships Director.
National LGBTQ Task Force, Statement from Naomi Washington-Leapheart
First-person statement documenting her identification as Black, a woman, and bisexual.
City of Philadelphia, Naomi Washington-Leapheart
Official profile documenting her Philadelphia government role and earlier LGBTQ+ faith organizing work.
Harvard Divinity School, Religion and Public Life
Institutional record documenting her 2023–2024 Government Fellowship and professional background.